AT&T's network rocks, it's iPhone's problem • Hacker News Board

Re: AT&T's network rocks, it's iPhone's problem

#11

Post by blhack » Sat, Dec 12, 2009, 8:55 PM UTC

I don't know how much AT&T's network "rocks".

I have a blackberry bold and most calls get dropped at least once during my conversation (obviously this isn't true for calls that are The 3G coverage is also dreadful. The phone will say "3g", but will time out when opening webpages with the blackberry's browser, using google maps, or trying to run the blackberry twitter app.

I get absolutely no service at my house. AT&T has been talking about a portable cell station that you can buy, then pay a monthly fee to use (wtf, at&t? You're going to offload traffic to my network connection at home, then charge me for the privilege of it?) for about a year now, but it hasn't materialized (if it has, I haven't seen it).

I live in Phoenix, which is a pretty large city. I would understand these things if I lived in a small town, but i don't. AT&T's coverage and their unwillingness to admit that there is a problem and that they are fixing it is unacceptable.

Re: AT&T's network rocks, it's iPhone's problem

#12

Post by Imprecate » Sat, Dec 12, 2009, 9:12 PM UTC

There are areas where I get great data service when nobody else is around. Then during peak hours data service is very slow or intermittent even though my signal strength stays the same. I'm not a telecom engineer, but it seems like they have too few towers for the number of subscribers in some areas or they don't have enough bandwidth in their backhaul.

Maybe both AT&T and the iPhone are bad, at least in my case.

When I travel to less populated cities, 3G data is always extremely fast; still I'd rather have a consistent 800 Kbps than 1500 when I'm lucky and 50 when I'm not.

Re: AT&T's network rocks, it's iPhone's problem

#13

Post by Maciek416 » Sat, Dec 12, 2009, 9:15 PM UTC

gamble wrote: post #2

Is there even a single other country where the iPhone has the problems it does on AT&T? I've been using my 3G on Rogers here in Canada since it was released. I've never seen a dropped call and Rogers' network is consistently faster than the phone.

I've had exactly the same experience over here (Toronto, Canada, and also on Rogers' 3G network).

I can't remember having ever dropped a call on my iPhone 3G and the network is absolutely rock solid, and very very fast (using the Xtreme Labs speed test app, for example).

The logic of this article in compelling at first but doesn't stand up to evidence that the iPhone is quite good outside of AT&T.

Re: AT&T's network rocks, it's iPhone's problem

#14

Post by mmastrac » Sat, Dec 12, 2009, 9:20 PM UTC

sachinag wrote: post #6

Surely, someone has asked people in other countries what their experiences are with their iPhones on their carriers. Given that the rest of the world is on GSM (Korea excluded), we should pretty well know whose fault it is.

Here's my anecdote. I'm an iPhone user in Canada o the Rogers network. My signal is very strong everywhere. I rarely see any less than a perfect signal, except when far away from metropolitan areas. Usually five bars, indoors and out. I may have had a dropped call over the last year, but I couldn't tell you when.

Last week I visited mountain view for Campfire One. In the three days I was there, I had two calls dropped on me. One of them was dropped while walkig around outside at the Googleplex. My signal often wavere between zero or two bars and five bars for no explicable reason. I would occasionally lose signal entirely inside buildings (my hotel room for one).

In my experience, a perfectly working iPhone in Canada becomes unreliable in California. Take from that what you will.

Re: AT&T's network rocks, it's iPhone's problem

#15

Post by drewr » Sat, Dec 12, 2009, 9:22 PM UTC

rufo wrote: post #4

This seems like a poorly reasoned article to me. I don't think anybody argues the point that AT&T has the fastest 3G network. You can have the fastest network. It can have slightly more signal bars. It can also be the one that drops calls the most. These things are not mutually exclusive.

Don't you mean they are mutually exclusive?

Re: AT&T's network rocks, it's iPhone's problem

#16

Post by ajg1977 » Sat, Dec 12, 2009, 9:30 PM UTC

mmastrac wrote: post #14

sachinag wrote: post #6

Surely, someone has asked people in other countries what their experiences are with their iPhones on their carriers. Given that the rest of the world is on GSM (Korea excluded), we should pretty well know whose fault it is.

Here's my anecdote. I'm an iPhone user in Canada o the Rogers network. My signal is very strong everywhere. I rarely see any less than a perfect signal, except when far away from metropolitan areas. Usually five bars, indoors and out. I may have had a dropped call over the last year, but I couldn't tell you when. Last week I visited mountain view for Campfire One. In the three days I was there, I had two calls droppe…

But who was your roaming provider while in California? Was it AT&T? T-Mobile?

Re: AT&T's network rocks, it's iPhone's problem

#17

Post by martey » Sat, Dec 12, 2009, 9:31 PM UTC

blhack wrote: post #11

I don't know how much AT&T's network "rocks". I have a blackberry bold and most calls get dropped at least once during my conversation (obviously this isn't true for calls that are The 3G coverage is also dreadful. The phone will say "3g", but will time out when opening webpages with the blackberry's browser, using google maps, or trying to run the blackberry twitter app. I get absolutely no service at my house. AT&T…

AT&T's femtocell (the "3G Microcell") is out, in "select markets." See a review of it at http://paulstamatiou.com/review-att-3g-microcell

My experience with AT&T has been that I have more problems in large cities, and less when I am in the suburbs. I suspect that this might be related to iPhone (or general smartphone) density.

Re: AT&T's network rocks, it's iPhone's problem

#18

Post by spoondan » Sat, Dec 12, 2009, 9:33 PM UTC

But it's not just iPhone users. Wireless users in general are unhappy with AT&T's service. So if it's not the network, but a problem with the phones, AT&T must have a uniquely awful line-up of hardware. That sounds like just as big a problem for AT&T as network issues.

Re: AT&T's network rocks, it's iPhone's problem

#19

Post by EvilTrout » Sat, Dec 12, 2009, 9:39 PM UTC

Maciek416 wrote: post #13

gamble wrote: post #2

Is there even a single other country where the iPhone has the problems it does on AT&T? I've been using my 3G on Rogers here in Canada since it was released. I've never seen a dropped call and Rogers' network is consistently faster than the phone.

I've had exactly the same experience over here (Toronto, Canada, and also on Rogers' 3G network). I can't remember having ever dropped a call on my iPhone 3G and the network is absolutely rock solid, and very very fast (using the Xtreme Labs speed test app, for example). The logic of this article in compelling at first but doesn't stand up to evidence that the iPhone is quite good outside of AT&T.

I'm on Fido (Rogers 3G Network) and my experience is the same. I've never had a dropped call, and the phone is almost always fast.

I've also used it in Montreal with similar experiences. So either the Canadian 3G networks are especially good, or AT&T's network is crap.

Re: AT&T's network rocks, it's iPhone's problem

#20

Post by freakwit » Sat, Dec 12, 2009, 9:47 PM UTC

drewr wrote: post #15

rufo wrote: post #4

This seems like a poorly reasoned article to me. I don't think anybody argues the point that AT&T has the fastest 3G network. You can have the fastest network. It can have slightly more signal bars. It can also be the one that drops calls the most. These things are not mutually exclusive.

Don't you mean they are mutually exclusive?

I'm pretty sure rufo means they aren't.